Dish Network to close 500 Blockbuster stores

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Dish Network Corp. says in an annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it plans to close more than 500 Blockbuster stores this year.

Dish acquired the Blockbuster video-store chain in April. The closures would leave Blockbuster with about 1,000 retail stores.

The filing doesn’t say which stores will be shut down.

However, Dish spokesman Marc Lumpkin tells The Denver Post (http://bit.ly/w2JTrH) the stores that will close aren’t performing well and are primarily unprofitable. He says about 150 Blockbuster stores sell the company’s satellite television services, but that number will grow.